


Fire and Gasoline

by mxss_murder



Category: Persona 5
Genre: DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVENT BEATEN P5 ROYAL YET, Established Relationship, F/M, Implied Relationships, Implied Sexual Content, Major Spoilers Ahead, Spoilers, implied past relationship, p5 royal spoilers, persona 5 royal spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:27:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24549865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mxss_murder/pseuds/mxss_murder
Summary: Akechi has made his decision. Ann has a lot to say about it.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Takamaki Ann
Comments: 8
Kudos: 34





	Fire and Gasoline

**Author's Note:**

> I beat P5R a couple days ago and I couldn't get this out of my head, so i decided the perfect time to write it was late at night when I have work early in the morning. I'm full of smart decisions. This has not been beta'ed, not been edited, and probably won't be. I may write more for these two because I am in rarepair hell and I need more content. 
> 
> Please, do not read if you dont want to spoil anything for yourself. You have been warned.

“You know….” 

“... He’s not the only one who would be happy with his return.” 

The gentle chime of the bells made Ann pause. She had hoped to talk to Ren about Maruki, the deal, everything. She just… she just needed reassurance. She just needed to know for sure that they were doing the right thing. Ann’s breath caught in her throat, forcing down a hiccup. They couldn’t hear her.  _ He  _ couldn’t hear her. 

He would hate it, knowing she was here. 

Dr. Maruki stood aside, just out of view from the cafe door. Ann remained hidden behind a wall, and had been hiding the moment she had seen Akechi coming her way. It shouldn’t be a surprise that Dr Maruki knew that she was there. It was his world, after all. His reality. And in his reality…. 

In his reality, Akechi was alive. 

It was a bit selfish of her, she knew. She should just be happy with the fact that Shiho was still around, and they could be best friends again. That was what she wanted, wasn’t? For none of it to have happened? Kamoshida.. And Shido… 

Ann closed her eyes. It was bullshit. 

“I wasn’t able to get through to them,” Dr Maruki spoke softly, his voice carrying through the air like a gentle breeze. It was unbelievable, but there was regret in his tone. Like he truly did just… want what was best for them. For a moment, Ann almost gave in to it, but… 

There was still doubt in her heart, and she hated herself for it. 

“But maybe… maybe you can? You’re close to them both, aren’t you? Takamaki-san?”

She didn’t answer. If she answered, she might yell. Or cry. Possibly both. Because it was so unfair. It was so unfair that they had to choose being happy or- or the truth. Ann knew what Ren would choose, and she knew what Akechi would choose too, but it was such bullshit that she wanted to scream. For a moment, for a single moment she had  _ hope. Hope  _ that- that he could- that  _ they  _ could- but it was gone. 

Dr. Maruki had all but confirmed it. 

“Well… whatever you decide, I hope that you can live with your decision.” 

Dr. Maruki left her alone, his footfalls fading into the streets of Yongen-jaya, leaving her alone with the crickets and the cats. Akechi hadn’t left yet, either. No doubt they were discussing everything that had transpired… Ann crept closer to Leblanc, hiding in the shadows next to the door. She could see the shadows of Akechi and Ren cast onto the ground. A writhing pit of jealousy gnawed at her gut. 

Ann had always known that there was something going on between the two. It wasn’t quite romantic, and she could hardly call them friends. But even before being trapped in Dr. Maruki’s reality, there was an understanding between the two that was just beyond everyone’s reach. She couldn’t help but be a little jealous. Joker always had the Crow’s attention, no matter who was near him. 

“Or are you really so spineless that you’d fold over some bullshit, trivial threat on my life?” 

Akechi’s voice rang loud and clear. Maybe he was just being loud, maybe it was Dr Maruki’s influence, but Ann had never heard anything so clearly before. “Trivial threat…?” 

How was a threat on his life… trivial? How could any part of this, any of it, be  _ trivial?  _ Anger burning in her like Agidyne, Ann clenched her fist and forced her mouth to stay shut. Goddammit, she was just so mad! How dare he? How dare he say his life was trivial? How dare he act like it was nothing! It was more than just nothing, it was everything!

She shouldn’t care so much. It always got her the shit end of the deal, caring about people. She was weak. Her heart was weak. And caring about Akechi… caring about Akechi was like pouring gasoline on an oil spill. 

Granted, Ann had never  _ meant  _ for anything to happen. She had never wanted anything to happen. She knew not to trust him from the moment the word pancakes left his damn perfect lips, but… they had made a perfect team in Niijima-san’s palace, and she couldn’t deny the chemistry that had burned between them. He was smart. He was witty. And, it didn’t hurt that he was easy on the eyes. 

Honestly, though… she preferred him like this. When he wasn’t acting like a charming detective, and just.. Being himself. He was born from people who didn’t want him, and grew up alone. It was only natural that his tongue was as sharp as his wit, and his blade. He was just.. Used to having to do things his own way, even if it meant hurting others. 

She supposed it was why she admired him so much. He was a lot more brave, a lot more cruel, than she was. It reminded her of Mika, being ruthless to get what she wants.

She wanted him. 

“Is it really so simple?” 

Ren’s voice brought Ann out of her thoughts. 

“Oh, but it is simple. Do you think I’d be happy with this? Being shown mercy now, of all times? I don’t want to be pitied! This isn’t something I’m debating with you!”

“But what about Ann?” 

Her breath hitched in her throat, ears straining for an answer. What about her? Would he even respond? ...would he even care?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Akechi hissed. His voice was barbed, a sharper edge that wasn’t there before. He was getting defensive. Ann deflated, unable to shove the hurt she was feeling aside. Of course. Of course he would act like there was nothing between them.

It only made sense. 

To him, none of it mattered. 

“Don’t play the fool, you’re not good at it,” Ren retorted, without malice. “Everyone can see the connection you two have had since the Casino. Leaving you in Shido’s palace about killed her.”

To that, Akechi was silent. She wanted to peek inside Leblanc, wanted to see his face. Would he even care? Would he care about her happiness? Would he care about them, at all? 

She had always known going into it, whatever it was between them, that there couldn’t be a future in it. She had known. She had known Akechi would betray them. She had known that he had intended betraying them from the start. But dammit all, it didn’t help a bit. She still fell for him. She still wanted him.

She wanted a future with him, and in this reality, there was the possibility.  There was _hope._

And if they returned to the true reality, that hope, that future, was gone. 

Didn’t he care  _ at all _ ?

“It doesn’t matter,” Akechi spoke, softer this time. “I will not have my life chosen for me. I will carve a path for myself.”

“And Ann?”

“Ann… Ann will have a successful modelling career, with any boy to pick and choose from. She’ll forget about me soon enough.”

Stupid Akechi. Stupid, stupid, stupid Akechi. How could she possibly forget someone like him? How could she possibly forget the moments that they had shared together? Hiding in remote areas, away from dangerous shadows and prying little thieves. Stealing a kiss when they thought no one was looking. Going out, alone, to his favorite little jazz club or sneaking him on set for a photoshoot. How could she forget  _ any  _ of it? 

Why would he  _ want  _ her too? 

“You need to talk to her.” 

“There’s nothing to discuss, Amamiya. I have made my choice. What’s yours?”

She could just imagine it. She’s known Ren for long enough to know the thoughtful quirk of his brow, and then the slow nod that came with strength and determination. Ren had always been fierce and steadfast in his beliefs. She knew what he would decide. What he would want. It didn’t matter that they had been happy, in this reality. If it had, he would have never brought them out of it. No. 

She knew what his decision was. He didn’t need to say it. 

“We’re stopping Maruki.”

“I’m relieved to hear it.”

Ann’s eyes closed tight. Tears threatened to fall, stinging her eyes, but she refused. She refused to cry for him. She refused to cry over him, again. Dammit. Dammit dammit dammit. Why? Why did it have to be like this? Why did they have to choose? Why, why did it have to end this way?

Why didn’t he just.. Want to be happy with her? 

She didn’t hear anything after that. She didn’t know what either one of them said, and to be honest, she didn’t care. All Ann wanted to do was to run away and cry, but her legs refused to move. She was just so damn angry, she wanted to blast everything away with Maragidyne. But no. There was no damn time. Mementos was overrun by Dr. Maruki and they had to fight him tomorrow. 

There was no running away. 

Not anymore. 

The bells chimed again.

It was a long time before either one of them spoke. Akechi stood in the doorway, light from the cafe cascading around him. Ann, still hiding in the shadows, refused to look at him. But she could feel his eyes on her. They roamed over her like they had done before, when he thought she wasn’t looking. It was something he did to everyone. He liked to take them apart, piece by piece. What he thought their weaknesses were. Where to put pressure in a conversation, where to fold and where to bite down. 

It just seemed like, with her, he had always taken longer. Ann wasn’t a vain girl, but she wasn’t stupid either. Her looks were exactly the reason why Kamoshida had cornered her, and the exact reason why she was budding on a successful modelling career. It wasn’t the first time a man or a woman had let their eyes linger a little too long, but with Akechi… well it was the first time she had enjoyed it. 

She couldn’t deny the way it made her feel. Somehow, with a person like Akechi keeping his eyes on her, it just boosted her confidence all the more. So yeah, she might have moved her hips a certain way when she could feel his eyes on her, but where was the harm in it? It left a fire in a belly and a certain thirst for satisfaction she hadn’t felt anywhere else. 

That she still didn’t feel, except with him. 

“You shouldn’t be out so late,” he said, his voice soft. Not at all like when he spoke to Ren. “We’ve got a big day ahead of us tomorrow.” 

Still, neither one of them moved. 

Ann was struggling not to cry. She was struggling with a lot of things at the moment. Mostly, mostly all she wanted to do was scream. 

“Did any of it.. Mean anything to you?”

It was the only thing she could think to ask. It was the question that burned in her chest the most. Did it matter? Did  _ any  _ of it matter? What they had done, what they had shared. What they had gone through. Did any of it, any of it at all, matter to him? 

He didn’t answer at first, and with every second that passed in silence the anger in her chest burned even hotter. How dare he. How dare he lie to her. How dare he not care. How dare he not care about them. About what they could have  _ been!  _

How dare.. How dare he make her love him!

“Does it matter now?” He asked, still quiet. His softness clashed with her rage, and she hated it. It was always like that between them. He was the ace detective, and she was the airheaded model. He was witty and she was honest. He hid everything between honeyed lies, and she wore her heart on her sleeve. What a pair they made. 

“Of course it does!” She couldn’t keep her voice down now. “Of course it matters! Dammit, Goro, I thought- I thought-”

“You thought what?” He asked, voice sharp. “You thought that we would have our happily ever after? That we could be the couple of the year on Vague magazine? Don’t make me laugh.”

“I thought we could at least try!” Ann spat back. “I thought you cared. I thought- I thought everything- I thought it  _ meant  _ something to you, but it didn’t, did it? Any of it?”

“You knew who I was with every step I took toward you. Why are you acting so surprised now.”

She was silent on that. She had hoped, and she didn’t want to admit it to him. Of course it was stupid, wanting to have a future with Akechi. He had murdered Haru’s father, and countless others. It didn’t matter that he was manipulated and groomed as a scapegoat for his own father, the fact of the matter was, he still killed people. He would still have to face justice for what he had done. 

But at least in this reality he was still alive. 

“Don’t bullshit with me,” Ann said instead. “You weren’t acting all of the time we were together. When we were alone, and Ren and the others weren’t watching. You weren’t lying the entire time, there was no need to. There was no need to get close to me at all.”

“Maybe I just wanted a hot body beneath me to make it all worthwhile.”

The words stung, but she ignored them. “You’re not so shallow, Goro,” she said instead. “And you’re not subject to such base desires, don’t lie to me.” 

“Am I not?” He approached her this time. His hand reached out to cup her face. Instead of moving out of the way, she stood still, silent as his fingers traced along the delicate flesh of her cheeks, her jaw, her neck. He could easily wrap his hands around her throat, but he didn’t. Instead his hand dropped, but he did not withdraw from her space. “You’re a beautiful girl, Ann Takamaki, anyone would be happy to have you in their bed.”

“I didn’t choose just anyone, I chose you.” 

“A mistake I’m sure you’ll come to regret.” Ann slapped him. Her hand stung from the impact. Akechi stood still, his face hidden behind his golden brown hair. She could feel the anger radiating from him though, but that was what she wanted. She wanted it when he was angry. That was when he was the most honest. 

She never liked Ace Detective Akechi. She liked it when he was just Goro. A little bit psychotic, but brutally honest. And she needed him to be honest with her. 

She needed him to be honest with himself. 

The rage sparked in his eye. It was always present, but he was very good at pushing it down and hiding it in public. Rage built from an unjust system, rage from being unwanted, unloved, for so long. It bubbled within him like a toxic cesspool, wasting him away and corroding from the inside out. 

“Did any of it  _ mean  _ anything to you?” She asked him again. Akechi straightened himself, a hard look in his eye. 

“No.” He hissed. “I was merely using you. Isn’t that what you’re good for? Being a  _ whore?”  _ Ann slapped him again, harder this time. Her hand stung and she knew at any given moment he could just snap, but she was banking on him not to risk it in front of Leblanc. Not where Ren could hear. Even still, she could  _ feel  _ his anger pushing through. 

“What do you want from me?!” He demanded. He cornered her now, her back up against the wall as he caged her in with his arms. “Do you want me to say yes? Then fine! Yes! It meant something to me! But it doesn’t matter  _ now!”  _

“Why not? Why doesn’t it matter?!”

“Because!  _ I WILL. NOT. BE. MANIPULATED. AGAIN!” _

Ann softened. Even though she was caged within his arms, she did not feel threatened. Not once had he ever raised a hand on her. Even in that fateful moment in Shido’s palace, he had still avoided hitting her with his magic at all cost. He wouldn’t hurt her now. And, even though he had given her every reason not to trust him… she did. 

Celestine, help her… but she did. 

“All my life, I lived for someone else. Groomed myself to become the ideal person, charming, intelligent. Likeable. I had been very particular about every facet of my existence. All for the disgusting man that was my father. I will not allow myself to be controlled like that again. Not even for a false happiness.” 

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that their lives turned out like this. It wasn't fair that for a moment, just, a single moment, she had found someone she could be happy with. His tongue was as sharp as his wit but it made her laugh. He believed in her and her confidence even when she couldn't. And she just.. didn't want to leave it behind. She wasn't ready to say goodbye. 

“But… would it really be fake?” Ann reached up. Her eyes traced over his features, tucking the strands of hair behind his ear. She smiled. He hated having his damn bangs in his eyes. “Would it really be fake, if we were together?” 

“It would be a lie. I should not exist, Ann. I should be dead.”

“But you’re not,” Ann whispered. “You’re not dead, and Goro…” gently, she cupped his chin in her hands, bringing his head up to meet her gaze. He would find nothing but kindness there. Kindness, and love. “You have no idea how happy that makes me.” 

He didn’t respond to that. He just kept looking at her, searching for something within her gaze. He would find nothing but honesty. That’s all she had ever been with him. It was strange, to him, she knew, to be surrounded by such good people. All she wanted to do was to show him how good they could be. How people didn’t always hide their true intentions. That he didn’t have to hide who he was, either. At least, not with them. 

Ann didn’t know if he had found what he was looking for, but the next moment, his lips were on her own. She met his passion equally, trying to express what she couldn’t put into words. Seeing him again had been the happiest day of her life. Ren had not been lying. She just wasn’t the same after Shido’s palace. She had just wanted to leave the place, together, but instead, she had to leave him behind. 

Akechi pulled down her ponytails, threading gloved fingers into her soft ashen hair. He’d always loved it when her hair was down. Said it made her look more mature. Happiness bubbled in her. She never wanted it to end. What she hated the most about Shido's palace was that she had never had her chance to say goodbye. So much had happened at the Casino, and she had known they would be betrayed, but still. She hadn't wanted it to end the way it did. And when he... when he died, she never got the chance to tell him how she really felt. 

Thats all she wanted. She just wanted him to know how much he meant to her. Even as he poured his soul into that kiss, Ann knew his decision would never change. He was a stubborn man, determined and set in his ways. Even at eighteen. He would never accept living a lie. 

And she just... had to respect it. "Goro," Ann murmured, pulling away. She had to tell him. Before tomorrow. Before everything went back to the way it should be, she had to tell him how she felt. She would forever regret it, otherwise. 

“I’m still alive,” he agreed, interrupting. His words tracing themselves across her swollen lips. “For one more night, Ann, I am still alive.” Akechi pulled back, his hands gently cupping the back of her head. That was one more thing she loved about him. No matter what, no matter what he said, she never really knew what he was thinking. There was so much hidden away behind his caramel gaze, it was difficult to tell. But even still, she could see something there. Something akin to fondness, and dare she hope, love. 

“Come.... let’s take you home.”

  
  



End file.
